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St. Bonaventure journalism professor edits new book in Emerging Civil War Series

Jan 21, 2014 |

A new Civil War book edited by St. Bonaventure University journalism professor Chris Mackowski was released this week.

“Bloody Autumn: The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864” by Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt is part of the Emerging Civil War Series published by Savas Beatie, the largest commercial publisher of Civil War books. Mackowski serves as editor of the series.

Davis has worked as a historian at both Appomattox Court House National Historic Site and at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. Greenwalt is a historian for the National Park Service at George Washington Birthplace National Monument. Both are frequent contributors to the blog Emerging Civil War: www.emergingcivilwar.com.

Their book traces the misfortunes of the Confederate Seconds Corps, commanded by Lt. Gen. Jubal Early, during the early fall of 1864, as they tried to secure the Shenandoah Valley, known then as “the breadbasket of the Confederacy.” Federal commander Maj. Gen. Phil Sheridan, tasked with clearing the valley once and for all, rose to national prominence as he undertook his assignment with gusto.

Along with a narrative of events, “Bloody Autumn” features driving tours of the Shenandoah Valley battlefields at Third Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, Tom’s Brook, and Cedar Creek. The book also includes an introduction by Scott C. Patchan, author of “The Last Battle of Winchester,” maps by cartographer Hal Jespersen, and an appendix on “Preservation in the Valley” by National Park Service Historian Eric Campbell.

Mackowski also contributed an appendix, “The Valley Campaign for Memory,” which examines the long-term legacy of the campaign and why history remembers — and misremembers — it the way it does.

Mackowski, a professor of journalism and mass communication, has taught at St. Bonaventure University since the fall of 2000.